SA Fast5 netballers must bounce back against Aussies

Updated: October 16, 2014

Despite dominating most of the match, the SPAR South Africa Fast5 netball team ultimately went down 38-33 against the Australian Centre of Excellence in their opening match of a two-game series in Potchefstroom on Wednesday night.The hosts led 7-6 after the first quarter, and while the tourists hit back to draw level (13-13) at half-time, Elize Kotze’s side used their powerplay in the third period and drew clear again to hold a 25-18 heading into the final stanza.
The Australians, however, made full use of their powerplay in the last quarter, playing it safe with two-point shots as they secured a 1-0 series lead ahead of Friday’s second and final contest.
‘It’s important for us to be consistent throughout the four quarters,’ said SPAR South Africa coach Elize Kotze.
‘We were in a good position after our powerplay but we need to be more clinical on defence.’
National captain Maryka Holtzhausen was satisfied with her performance, but she hoped they would be able to work on a few key areas in training on Thursday.
‘We need to be much tighter through our powerplay, especially with our two-point shots,’ Holtzhausen said.
‘I thought we did well, especially considering this was our first game together as a team.’
Both sides were without senior players due to injury and illness, and Michelle de Dekker, coach of the Australian team, was pleased with the victory as the visitors remained unbeaten on their week-long tour.
‘It would be nice to hit more three-pointers, and we did not defend hard enough, but only two of our players have played Fast5 matches before so I thought it was a solid performance.’